Clinton Development Initiative

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By gaining access to high-quality inputs and better markets, more than 28,000 smallholder farmers in Malawi have increased their income.

Today, despite billions of dollars in foreign assistance, the majority of Africans still lack access to basic, life-sustaining necessities including food and health care. The Clinton Development Initiative (CDI) in Malawi, Rwanda, and Tanzania encourages economic growth by empowering farmers with the tools they need to support their families and uplift their communities. CDI helps smallholder farmers purchase fertilizer, seed, and other inputs; expand their access to bank loans; and facilitate pre-season sales of their harvests to reputable buyers. As large numbers of smallholder farm families increase their incomes, they have the ability to improve their living condition and quality of life as well as the lives of their families. They can also afford to access available health care, education, and a higher level of food security.

The Anchor Farm Project is a CDI-operated commercial farm that partners with thousands of neighboring smallholder farmers, providing them with access to quality inputs for maize and soy production as well as training and market access.

CDI established the Trees of Hope Project in the Dowa and Neno districts of Malawi to reverse deforestation, mitigate the harmful effects of climate change, and bolster a self-sustaining marketplace by making tree farming profitable and attractive for smallholder farmers.

Locally operated agribusinesses create jobs and help farmers build sustainable livelihoods. These businesses are reliable, long-term buyers for local produce and offer farmers a buffer against the price fluctuations that are endemic to the market.

Building on Clinton Hunter Development Initiative’s longstanding work with Rwandan coffee farmers, in 2009 CHDI and the Rwanda Coffee board initiated Rwandan Farmers Coffee Company (RFCC). RFCC will add value to Rwanda’s premium coffee while creating jobs and securing better returns to farmers.

President Clinton is greeted at the SoyCo construction site in Rwanda. SoyCo is contracting with an estimated 30,000 local farmers to grow soya for its processing plant and is providing inputs to support those farmers.

Sekanakoni Banda stands next to one of the trees that he grows as part of the Clinton Development Initiative's Trees of Hope project in Malawi. Launched in 2007 in the Dowa and Neno districts, Trees of Hope aims to reverse deforestation by making tree farming attractive and profitable for farmers.

Through Clinton Development Initiative's programs in Rwanda, smallholder farmers learn improved planting techniques and have expanded access to seeds. The programs have helped 4,000 farmers’ increase their yields by 240 percent on average and are helping feed 30,000 people.

In Rwanda, the Clinton Development Initiative is helping people increase their livelihoods and reduce malnutrition by developing soybean production cooperatives and businesses, aiming to provide reliable, long-term buyers for local produce and offer farmers a buffer against price fluctuations.

Clinton Development Initiative

More About the Clinton Development Initiative

Today, despite billions of dollars in foreign assistance, the majority of Africans still lack access to basic, life-sustaining necessities including food and health care. The Clinton Development Initiative (CDI) in Malawi, Rwanda, and Tanzania encourages economic growth by empowering farmers with the tools they need to support their families and uplift their communities.

CDI helps smallholder farmers purchase fertilizer, seed, and other inputs; expand their access to bank loans; and facilitate pre-season sales of their harvests to reputable buyers. As large numbers of smallholder farm families increase their incomes, they have the ability to improve their living condition and quality of life as well as the lives of their families. They can also afford to access available health care, education, and a higher level of food security.

CDI also operates several large-scale farming and agribusiness projects that bring increased incomes and security to rural families. As these projects operate and generate profits, there are opportunities to reinvest in local community social impact projects like schools, clinics, and clean water sources.

CDI operates at the invitation of the governments of Malawi, Rwanda, and Tanzania. Across all its projects, CDI emphasizes scale and sustainability, with programs that can bring ongoing, lasting benefits to large populations. Its underlying operational premise is that these programs can and should include their own revenue generating capability, so that the programs become financially self-sufficient instead of relying on the ongoing support of foreign donors. In Rwanda, the Clinton Foundation works in partnership with the Hunter Foundation.